Criminal Blunders (18)

A bank robbery suspect in Gwinnett County, Ga., is accused of making a crucial mistake following his alleged crime — he let his identity be known.

Eric Rivers was arrested Tuesday in connection with a spree of bank robberies in Lawrenceville, Ga. after he appeared in an on-camera interview with a local news station for an unrelated story about public transit.

A statement from the Lawrenceville Police Department:

“You see, when you accept an interview and provide them with your real name it actually makes our job too easy,”

Rivers removed his hat and du-rag, which he is alleged to have worn during the robberies based on security camera images released by police.

Authorities say after the interview, Rivers proceeded to scope out a Fidelity Bank in the area.

They're either the world's most accommodating criminals, the greediest, the most optimistic, or the dumbest—or maybe all of the above. The BBC reports on 15 tense minutes Saturday for a Belgian e-cigarette shop owner, identified simply as Didier, when a half-dozen wannabe armed robbers showed up midafternoon at his store outside Charleroi. "I told them clearly that 3pm is not the best time to hold up a store," Didier tells RTL, via CNN. Instead, he managed to stammer out, if they came back later on, he'd possibly have many more euros to hand over. To his surprise, they agreed that was a good idea and left. The cops didn't buy Didier's story that the suspects would actually return, but they did—not once, but twice.

First the suspects showed back up at around 5:30pm, and Didier shook his head at their too-early return. "I berated them, saying, 'You have to buy a watch,'" he says, noting he told them to come back at 6:30, when the store would close for the evening. The hopefuls were back at Didier's door an hour later—and plainclothes cops were there to nab them. "It's like it was a comedy," the incredulous shop owner tells the BBC. "They're being called the worst robbers in Belgium." Five of the hopeful criminals were arrested, including a minor; the sixth managed to get away. "They weren't the brightest," Didier tells RTL.

MIAMI, Fla. - A South Florida man with half a skull is facing attempted murder and arson charges for setting his bed mattress on fire.

Florida Police say Carlos Rodriguez, 31, set his mattress on fire at his Miami home Monday afternoon. Two victims were inside a duplex connected to the house and police say the fire posed a threat to the occupants.

Police found Rodriguez in the backyard and arrested him.

He was being held on a $20,000 bond.

Rodriguez, who goes by the nickname, "Halfy," is seen on a YouTube video explaining how he lost half of his skull in an accident.

On the video, he says he was "barred out on drugs" when he hit a pole with his car and flew through the windshield and landed on his head. "It's no good drinking and driving," he said, while smoking a joint on the video.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK – “This is the park service. Get on the boardwalk!,” said an official with Yellowstone National Park after witnessing a man walking on the cone of Old Faithful last Friday.

A witness captured the incident on video. In the video, the man appears to be urinating into the geyser. He then lays down next to the geyser.

The man was arrested following the incident and charged with multiple violations, including being off-trail in a thermal area.

The man has since been released on bond, but remains under investigation.

“We take these cases very seriously,” said Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk, “The law requires people to stay on boardwalks or marked trails in thermal areas. Anyone who ignores this law risks their life and possibly the lives of emergency personnel.”

The park is unable to release a name or additional details at this time.

Geysers and hot springs are incredibly dangerous. Many people have been injured or killed by underestimating that danger.

When a man was robbed inside Central Market in Pennsylvania on Feb. 6, police asked him to describe the culprit the best he could. According to Local 21 News, the man described the robber as “as a man in his 30s who was 5-foot-4 and possibly South American or Asian.”

But the thing is, the man didn’t stop there. He provided his own sketch of the robber, which was actually a hilariously terrible drawing. The best part? Police were actually able to arrest the man because of the drawing.

Seriously, I can’t get over it. The drawing is so awful, and yet somehow so like the man. I can’t stop staring at the uncanny resemblance.

The sketch and mug shot have now gone viral, and people online can’t stop laughing about it (and tbh, same).

officer looks at doodle.officer looks at suspect.officer looks at doodle.officer looks at suspect, squinting.officer looks at doodle."yup this is him."

Police in Louisiana say a woman came home to discover a naked stranger in her tub, eating her Cheetos while taking a bath, reports the AP. A Monroe police affidavit says 29-year-old Evelyn Washington was arrested on burglary and property damage charges. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Washington was "caught orange-handed with nowhere to run," and that a responding officer found "a full tub of water and a plate of food along with half eaten Cheetos belonging to the victim on the toilet next to the tub." Washington told the homeowner and police that an unknown male had told her to break into the house. Police found a tall ice chest under a broken window.

A 34-year-old man was arrested after he stripped at a Planet Fitness gym in New Hampshire, New England Cable News reported Monday.

Police say Eric Stagno walked back and forth and started doing poses on a yoga mat before telling officers he thought he was in a "judgment-free zone," referring to Planet Fitness' slogan, according to the report.

Stagno is free on bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on September 21 in Plaistow District Court, NECN reported.

A 34-year-old man in New Hampshire apparently took Planet Fitness' description of itself as a "Judgment-Free Zone" a little too literally this week.

Eric Stagno has been charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct after witnesses say he stripped at a Planet Fitness in Plaistow, New Hampshire, New England Cable News reported Monday.

Police say he walked back and forth and started doing poses on a yoga mat before telling officers he thought he was in a "judgment-free zone," NECN reported.

"While we appreciate that Planet Fitness is known for our non-intimidating, welcoming environment, in this case, Mr. Stagno clearly took our Judgement Free Zone a little too far," a representative for Planet Fitness told Business Insider.

Stagno is free on bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on September 21 in Plaistow District Court, NECN reported. He did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

For some strange, inexplicable reason, public poopers have been waging turd terrorism across the country in recent months. First, there was the Mad Pooper of Colorado Springs, a jogger who would routinely pinch a loaf on the same family's lawn while out on a run. Then, there was the Arkansas Shit Bandit, another jogger who liked to do number two near parked cars. Now, it looks like New Jersey police have finally caught their own dastardly defecator—and this one feels like the end of particularly shit-centric Scooby-Doo episode.

According to police, the mystery pooper who'd been shitting on the Holmdel High School track every morning wasn't some angry student failing gym—it was the superintendent of a neighboring school district, NJ.com reports.

Faculty at the school, apparently tired of cleaning coils of human doo off their track "on a daily basis," put together a sting operation and caught the man, 42-year-old Thomas Tramaglini, in the act. Police arrested Tramaglini on the track early Monday morning.

Tramaglini, the Kenilworth school superintendent, is now being charged "with lewdness, littering, and defecating in public," according to a Holmdel Township Police Department Facebook post. The school district has reportedly placed him on paid leave while he faces the charges.

It's unclear why exactly Tramaglini allegedly made it his duty to make duty at the high school, but since this was an ongoing issue, the question is worth exploring. What inspires a seemingly normal person to begin pooping in public? Is it out of anger, borne from some deep-seated rage only weaponized shit can fix? Is it some animalistic urge, an instinct to rebel against our civilized turd-in-bowl world and drop a deuce in nature? Or is it just, like, really funny to poop outside once in a while?

According to NJ.com, Tramaglini was running on the track before his arrest, so maybe that has something to do with it. If this is actually the third case of joggers hanging roots during their exercises, then our society is apparently in desperate need of more public restrooms for the runners out there. In the meantime, though, can't you start carrying a bag? Come on, everybody—if you need to squeeze one out in public, at least do us all the courtesy of scooping it yourself.

A Canadian dog that just plain hates deer got busted in Canada and was brought home in a police cruiser.

"He is such a sweet dog and loves humans and other animals," his owner, Emme Thompson, told InsideEdition.com Monday. "For some reason, deer just bother him!"

Thompson, a 21-year-old college student, posted a photo of her dog, looking forlorn in the back seat of a police car, on Twitter, where it promptly went viral. The adorable photo has been viewed more than 165,000 times.

"The attention has been insane," said Thompson, who is from Ontario. "I never expected it to blow up like this."

Her dad and his girlfriend had been out walking with the dog, Finn, when they let him off his leash, Thompson said. "Normally, he does this no problem and stays close by," she said. Not so on Sunday, when he spied a dreaded deer and took off running.

Finn did not answer calls or whistles after he bounded away in the bushes. The couple looked and looked but couldn't find him. They reluctantly made their way back to the trail head.

Not long after, the Ontario Police called. Finn, it appeared, had gotten himself into a bit of trouble and was now in custody.

When she saw her yellow-and-white pup in the cruiser's back seat, Thompson said she thought it looked so funny she had to take a photo.

"The police were very nice to him and brought him back safely," Thompson said.

Her image also inspired others to post their own photos of dogs in deep doo-doo.

An Oregon man on drugs stole a car in front of deputies and thought he was in a real-life version of the video game “Grand Theft Auto” when he led authorities on a 40-mile chase Saturday, police said.

Anthony Clark, 23, of Grant Pass, told police he had taken LSD when he got into a Toyota Camry that two Jackson County deputies were waiting to tow after an unrelated DUI stop, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said Clark sped through multiple towns, crashed through a fence, ran over spike strops twice and drove down several roads the wrong way, according to The Oregonian.

Clark was arrested after ramming into another police cruiser, fleeing into a mobile home park and trying to steal another vehicle, police said. The sheriff’s office said no one was hurt during the chase, according to the newspaper.

Clark admitted to taking drugs and hallucinating while he was being interviewed by officers, the sheriff’s office said. The Oregonian, citing a probable cause affidavit, reported Clark got into the Toyota after getting out of the passenger side of a truck nearby and told a deputy that he was going to steal the car.

The man is facing a bevy of charges from three different law enforcement agencies, according to KDRV-TV.

Clark was charged by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office with attempting to elude an officer in a vehicle, attempting to elude an officer on foot, driving under the influence of intoxicants, unauthorized use of a vehicle, reckless driving, and reckless endangering another person.

He was charged by the Ashland Police Department with recklessly endangering another person, reckless driving, first-degree criminal mischief, attempting to elude an officer in a vehicle, second-degree criminal trespass and unlawful entry into a vehicle. Oregon State Police charged Clark with recklessly endangering another person and third-degree escape.

More...

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A 73-year-old man is behind bars, accused of shooting at his neighbor during a dispute over lawn care.

The unusual shooting took place just south of Camby road on Indy’s southwest side. Last week, police were called to the property after Homer Faucett says his 73-year-old neighbor threatened to shoot him. Thursday night, those threats turned into gunshots.

“He pulled the pistol out and shot at the culvert and then turned the pistol at me, at which point I turned around to make a B-line and he fired at me,” said Faucett.

Faucett says he quickly drove his mower to safety and called police.

According to the police report, officers took Paul Kelley to the hospital for evaluation, then booked him into jail on a felony charge of criminal recklessness, although the 73-year-old told police he was shooting at a snake in the grass.

“Which I think is his way of being funny and saying I’m a snake because he doesn’t like the way I mow my lawn,” said Faucett.

As a second report shows, Homer called police ten days earlier to report Kelley threatened to kill him eight or nine times.

“There was a tirade of cursing and he said, ‘If you drop your deck on my lawn again I’m going to shoot you,’” said Faucett.

During that first altercation, police talked to the suspect but left the property without making any arrests.

“The police actually told me, 'Don’t mow your lawn. It may cause him to snap.' This is just silly. I’ve got to be able to mow my own lawn,” said Faucett.

Following the shooting, to help prevent any more violence, police seized numerous guns from the suspect. Faucett says he still can’t believe the 73-year-old got so mad over lawn care.

“There’s a level of civility that we’re just losing in this country,” said Faucett. “There are just some lines you don’t cross.”

Faucet knows he’s lucky he wasn’t hurt during the shooting. He hopes this is the last run in he ever has with his neighbor.

The 47-year-old was arrested on a battery charge, according to his inmate record. (St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office)

A man in St. Lucie County, Fla., was arrested after allegedly gave his girlfriend a “wet willy” while he was belligerent, an affidavit says.
A local sheriff’s deputy was called to the home of 47-year-old Joseph Sireci in mid-August. The man’s girlfriend claimed that she found Sireci drunk on the living room floor after she returned home from work.

According to an affidavit reviewed by the Treasure Coast Newspapers, Sireci went with his girlfriend, who has not been identified, and her daughter to a different person’s home. There, Sireci “continued to drink and be belligerent,” according to the affidavit.

Then, on the way home, Sireci allegedly grabbed his girlfriend’s hand, pulled her arm and “continued by giving her a ‘wet willy’ sticking his finger in her ear,” the affidavit says, according to the newspaper.

The daughter, whose identity is also unclear at this time, confirmed her mother's account.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — A Franklin man was arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated on Saturday— but he wasn't behind the wheel of a car.

Officers pulled over 46-year-old Barry Ridge while he was driving down County Road 100 North on a red lawn mower, according to the Johnson County Sheriff's department.

The Franklin Police Department received a complaint just after 5 p.m. from someone upset that Ridge had driven onto their yard and started mowing the grass. Ridge then headed down the road toward Franklin.

Officers said Ridge's eyes appeared "glassy." He failed a breathalyzer test, which found his blood-alcohol level of 0.189.

This isn't the first time Ridge was arrested for driving his lawnmower while drunk, according to police records. He was arrested in a Kroger parking lot in Marion County for operating the mower while intoxicated and "causing a disturbance" on April 8. His Huskee lawn tractor was impounded.

Ridge is still awaiting trial for the first arrest. He was taken to the Johnson County Jail on Saturday.

Two men have admitted to stealing a shark from a Texas aquarium over the weekend and using a baby stroller to smuggle the animal out of the building, officials revealed in an update on the bizarre case.

Leon Valley Police Chief Joe Salvaggio told reporters Monday night that the men confessed to taking the 1.5-foot-long horn shark from the San Antonio Aquarium after officers showed up at one of their homes with a search warrant.

The female shark, known as Helen, was brought back to the aquarium Monday evening and received a hero's welcome from employees. Salvaggio said the animal was in "very good condition."

According to investigators, the men and a woman removed the shark Saturday afternoon from an open tank where visitors can pet the sea life. In a statement, the aquarium said the trio "staked out the pool for more than an hour" before taking the animal.

Salvaggio did not identify the suspects Monday night, but said one of them was a 38-year-old white man who lived in San Antonio.

Investigators said one of the men grabbed the shark by the tail while the other two people involved wrapped it in a wet blanket. The men then put the shark into a bucket and put the bucket into the bottom part of a baby stroller.

The group then put the unusual cargo into a maroon truck.

The aquarium said that in the process of putting the shark in the bucket, the group dumped a bleach solution used to disinfect tools into the cold water exhibit filtration system. It said the solution caused "harm to other wildlife" and added, "If it weren't for the fast acting experienced staff, the bleach would have done more damage."

Aquarium General Manager Jenny Spellman told KABB one of her employees spotted the suspicious group and alerted management. Spellman confronted the group in the parking lot, but one of the men denied her request to search the truck.

Salvaggio said Monday that the mastermind of the theft kept several "marine animals" in his home in what he described as "almost a mock-up" of the aquarium.

"He very much knew what he was doing and kept that animal alive and was able to continue to see that animal thrive, which is pretty shocking to all of us," he said, adding that investigators believe he took the shark to replace one that had recently died.

Salvaggio said the men would face theft and other charges, and added that the department was investigating whether federal charges were warranted. A decision was expected Tuesday on whether the woman would face charges.